Life will never be the same for John Black’s loved ones now that the popular grandad has been cruelly taken from them.

However, they can find comfort in the knowledge that, although John is no longer here, part of him lives on through someone else.

John’s decision to pop out for a quiet pint on Wednesday, January 23, had tragic consequences.

Before he could make his way home, he suffered serious head injuries during an incident which took place in the West End of town.

John, 58, was found lying on a footpath near Underwood Lane at around 7.30am the next day.

He was already in a critical condition when he was rushed to Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital and he failed to recover from his injuries.

John’s family was left devastated – and they were then faced with a difficult decision on whether or not to give permission for his heart to be donated to someone on the transplant waiting list.

After some soul-searching, they gave the go-ahead.

Now the transplant operation has been declared a success.

Donna McSkeane, who is John’s daughter, told the Paisley Daily Express: “Dad didn’t have a donor card but we decided on the day of his death to donate his heart, so that a part of him would live on.

“For my mum, it was such a hard decision to make but the doctors said dad’s heart was really strong.

“It was donated to another gent in his late fifties, who is recovering well.”

John, of Maxwellton Court, Paisley, has been described as a proud family man and his death has left a huge gap in the lives of his loved ones.

Tearful Donna, 36, said: “I was close to my dad and saw him every week.

“I didn’t realise how much I depended on him until he was gone.

“He was a family man and would do anything for us. He was always there when we needed him.”

Donna, who is mum to two-year-old son Miller, said the night her dad was injured was the first time he had been out socially in eight months.

She explained: “This was the first time he had been out since May last year. He had just gone for a pint and must have been on his way home when this happened.

“It has been hard to come to terms with. The way he died has made it very hard for us to accept that he’s gone.”

John spent much of his time looking after his wife Ruby, 58, and little Miller.

“My dad looked after Miller from Wednesday to Saturday,” said Donna. “He was a loving grandad.

“Miller is going to miss out on doing so many things with him”

John is also survived by his sons Edward, 40, and Steven, 35, as well as his brothers Davie and Dougie, sister Jackie and other grandchildren Andrew and Mia.

His funeral service takes place at Woodside Crematorium, in Paisley, at 1pm today and will be conducted by the Reverend Eleanor Hood, of the Church of Scotland.

? A man has been remanded in custody after appearing at Paisley Sheriff Court in connection with John’s death.

It is alleged that David Milligan, of Henderson Street, Paisley, assaulted John in the town’s Brown Street and Underwood Lane on January 24 by striking him about the head, knocking him to the ground and, thereafter, dragging him into Underwood Lane, where he abandoned “and did murder” him.

Milligan, 30, made no plea or declaration during his brief appearance in chambers and the case against him was continued for further examination.